Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Air Force (GHF) military branches of the GAF. The GAF are supervised by the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence.

Ghana armed forces' Supreme Commander-in-Chief is the President of the Republic of Ghana, who is also the supreme military commander of the President's Own Guard Regiment (POGR) and of the Border Guard Unit (BGU). The supervision of the Ghana armed forces (GAF) is managed by the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff.

Ghana's modern military, Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), was formed in 1957. Major General Stephen Otu was appointed GAF Chief of Defence Staff in September 1961. From 1966, the GAF

was extensively involved in politics, mounting several coups. Kwame Nkrumah had become Ghana's first Prime Minister when the country became independent in 1957.

As Nkrumah's rule wore on, he began to take actions which disquieted the leadership of the armed forces, including the creation and expansion of the President's Own Guard Regiment (POGR). As a result, on February 24, 1966, a small number of military personnel from GA (Ghana Army) and senior police officials,

led by Colonel Emmanuel Kotoka, (commander of the Second Army Brigade at Kumasi), Major Akwasi Afrifa, (staff officer in charge of army training and operations), Lieutenant General (retired) Joseph Ankrah, and J.W.K. Harlley, (the police inspector general), successfully launched the "Operation Cold Chop", a coup d'état against the Nkrumah regime. The group formed the National Liberation Council, which ruled Ghana from 1966 to 1969.

The GAF second coup took place in 1972, after the reinstated civilian government had cut military privileges and started changing the leadership of the army's combat units. Lieutenant Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, (temporary commander of the First Brigade around Accra), led a bloodless coup that ended the Second Republic in January 1972. Thus the National Redemption Council was formed. Acheampong became head of state, and the NRC ruled from 1972 to 1975.

On October 9, 1975, the NRC was replaced by the Supreme Military Council (SMC).[1Council members were Colonel Acheampong, (chairman, who was also promoted straight from Colonel to General), Lt. Gen. Fred Akuffo, (the Chief of Defence Staff), and the army, navy, air force and Border Guard Unit commanders.

In July 1978, in a sudden move, the other SMC officers forced Acheampong to resign, replacing him with Lt. Gen. Akuffo. The SMC apparently acted in response to continuing pressure to find a solution to the country's economic dilemma; inflation was estimated to be as high as 300% that year. The council was also motivated by Acheampong's failure to dampen rising political pressure for changes. Akuffo, the new SMC chairman, promised publicly to hand over political power to a new government to be elected by 1 July 1979.

The decree lifting the ban on party politics went into effect on 1 January 1979, as planned. However in June, just before the scheduled resumption of civilian rule, a group of young armed forces officers, led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, mounted yet another coup. They put in place the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, which governed until September 1979. However, in 1981, Rawlings deposed the new civilian government again, this time establishing the Provisional National Defence Council. The PNDC remained in government until January 7, 1993. In the last years of the PNDC, Jerry Rawlings assumed civilian status; he was elected as a civilian President in 1993 and continued as President until 2001.

Ghana Army (GA)

The Ghana Army (GA) is the main ground warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force, and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian army. Together with the Ghanaian air force (GHF) and Ghanaian navy (GN), the Ghanaian army (GA) makes up the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF), controlled by the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Central Defence Headquarters, both located in Greater Accra.

The command structure for the army forces in Ghana originally stemmed from the British Army's West Africa Command. Lieutenant General Lashmer Whistler was the penultimate commander holding the command from 1951 to 1953. Lt Gen Sir Otway Herbert, who left the West Africa Command in 1955, was the last commander. The command was dissolved on 1 July 1956.

In 1957, the Ghana Army consisted of its headquarters, support services, three battalions of infantry and a reconnaissance squadron with armoured cars. Total strength was approximately 5,700 men.[3] Partially due to an over-supply of British officers after the end of the Second World War, only 12% of the officer corps in Ghana, 29 officers out a total of 209 in all, were Ghanaians at independence. Under Major General Alexander Paley, there were almost 200 British officers and 230 warrant officers and senior commissioned officers posted throughout the Ghanaian Army.

Ghanaian Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah wished to rapidly expand and Africanise the army in order to support his Pan-African and anti-colonial ambitions. Thus in 1961, 4th and 5th Battalions were established, and in 1964 6th Battalion was established, from a parachute unit originally raised in 1963. Second Infantry Brigade Group was established in 1961 to command the two battalions raised that year. However, 3rd Battalion was disbanded in February 1961 after an August 1960 mutiny while on Operation des Nations Unies au Congo service at Tshikapa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[6] The changeover from British to Ghanaian officers meant a sudden lowering of experience levels. The Ghanaian commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel David Hansen, had on appointment as battalion commander only seven years of military experience, compared to the more normal twenty years' of experience for battalion commanders in Western armies. He was badly beaten by his troops during the mutiny. 4th Battalion was raised under a British commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Cairns, from the single company of the 3rd Battalion that had not mutinied.

Initial British planning by Paley before his departure in 1959 had provided for all British officers to be withdrawn by 1970; however, under pressure from Nkrumah, Paley's successor Major General Henry Alexander revised the plans, seeing all British personnel to depart by 1962. However, in September 1961, Alexander and all other British officers and men serving with the Ghanaian armed forces were abruptedly dismissed.[8] Nkrumah was determined to indigenize his armed forces fully, after some years of accelerated promotion of Ghanaian personnel.

Simon Baynham says that “the wholesale shambles which surely must have resulted from simply expelling the expatriate contract and seconded officers was averted by the arrival of Canadian military technicians and training officers.”[9] Canadian training team personnel were assigned to the Military Academy (1961−1968), the Military Hospital, as Brigade Training Officers (1961−1968), to the air force, and later the Ministry of Defence (1963−1968), Ghana Army Headquarters (1963−1968) and the Airborne School.

Matters deteriorated further after the coup that deposed Nkrumah. In July 1967, Canadian Colonel James Bond, the Canadian military attache, asked to write a report on how Canada could further assist the Ghanaian armed forces, Bond wrote on '1966 preoccupation of.. senior officers with their civilian duties as members of the National Liberation Council and as regional administrators'.

Ghana has contributed forces to numerous UN and ECOWAS operations, including in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, and Liberia (ECOMOG and UNMIL). Ghana contributed UN peacekeeping in UNAMIR during the Rwandan Genocide. In his book Shake Hands with the Devil, Canadian force commander Romeo Dallaire gave the Ghanaian soldiers high praise for their work during the conflict, in which the Ghanaian contingent lost 3 soldiers.

Ghana Regiment – The major element of the army is the six light infantry battalions of the Ghana Regiment. Three battalions are assigned to each brigade.Airborne Force – The Airborne Force (ABF) is a battalion sized formation including a parachute trained company assigned to the Northern Command.64 Infantry Regiment – 64 Infantry Regiment is the commando trained rapid reaction force assigned to the Southern Command.

The Ghanaian Army has a number of units designated as combat support, including its armour, artillery, engineers and signals:

The Ghana Armed Forces has commenced the process to enlist eligible Ghanaians into its officer corps. The advert to this effect was published in the Ghanaian Times and the Daily Graphic recently. All the three services, namely the Army, Navy and the Air Force will select qualified personnel to fill vacancies in their respective services.

QUALIFICATION

The basic qualification for enlistment into the Ghana Armed Forces is that the applicant must be a Ghanaian national who is not more than 25 years of age by 20 April 2015 for Regular Commission and not more than 30 years by 15 April 2015 for Short Service Commission. He/She must also posses the requisite qualifications and must meet a standard height amongst others. (refer to the advert for more qualification)SIMPLE PROCEDUREThe first step in applying for enlistment is to purchase a scratch card from designated post offices across the country at a cost of GHC 70.00 (Seventy Ghana Cedis). It is important to note the Ghana Armed Forces no longer sell forms for enlistment or recruitment. After the purchase of the card, the applicant must go on-line using the address www.gafrecruitment.com to fill in all the required information needed. Applicants must note they must enter the serial number of the card, pin code and select their preferred arm of service, type of commission, upload photocopies of all relevant certificates and click on submit.After clicking on the submit button, an instant e-mail and text message would be sent to the applicant. This will include the applicants unique system generated Identification number. Print and keep a copy as that would be required after the applicant is shortlisted. The closing date for on-line application is 8 February 2015.

NO MIDDLEMEN

The attention of the Ghana Armed Forces has been drawn to the fact that some unscrupulous persons are going round duping unsuspecting applicants with the promise of getting them enlisted into the Armed Forces. It must be noted that no individual or group of persons can help anybody since the process is as transparent as possible. Anybody who presents himself as such must be reported immediately to the police for his arrest and prosecution.Signed

Ghana-Net.com is one of Ghana`s oldest websites, with tourism information`s about Ghana, Live Radio, life and culture of of all Ghana Nation`s, and tribes - like Ga people, Fante, Ewe, Ashanti, Dagbani, Frafra, Krobo and many other tribes and kingdoms of Ghana. Ghana-Net.com 1st time online late December 2000, and permanently since 2001!